The most important advice I received in my life was: "Know yourself". Quite a simple one but, it means much more to me than it sounds.

During a certain period in my early 20's, I was extremely arrogant. Every time I assumed I would be successful, I would get whatever I wanted. I didn't respect people around me, and even my arrogance came out in every speech I made.

Mom thought I was full of myself, irritating. She once told me to "know yourself"! Mom said it's inscribed on the front of the temple of Apollo. And entire quote is "know thyself, and you shall know all the mysteries of the gods and of the universe." That's quite a mouthful. Her version is this. "Know yourself because what else is there to know?

As a child, we don't always realize that parents tell us what to do out of love. I discovered that she was right after awhile. To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself and be a sober realist -- aware of both one's strength and shortage. You may look forward hopefully to the future but be sure not to expect too much. I think feeling small is the first step to knowing yourself. Being silent is the second. I think we are afraid of silence because we don't want to be small. If we are too silent, we might slow down enough to recognize that something much deeper, much larger, and much more ancient than us is slowly trying to tell us something. And that's scary. But I think it's worth a try. Maybe it will tell us who we are. That's to way so long as you have a perfect knowledge of yourself there won't be difficulties you can't overcome, nor obstacles you can't surmount.